THE AMERICAN WOMAN
[To tIte• Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR(,—After carefully reading Miss Mary Borden's article on "The American Woman," I believe she writes from super- ficial observation and hearsay, or else she has never met the highest type of womanhood that our United States of AmeriCa produces.- I want at least to be charitable to Miss Borden, so perhaps it would be kinder to omit my first assertion.
The American woman may be small-boned, but she is far from soft: She may appear to be plump with beautiful curves, but there is a framework of steel under the soft, caress- ing, outer covering of flesh. Her feet are pretty, she does have slim ankles, which most English women do not have. We will grant that her voice is thin. When Miss Borden Makes that assertion, though, I doubt very much if she has ever listened to a Virginia woman or any of the women who hail from our Southern States, talking in their soft; musical, drawling tones.
Miss Borden says that we wave our hands. What of it ? I have seen very noted men use their hands as a mode of expression in giving public addresses. She goes on to say that the American woman understands movement but not repose. Again I beg to differ from Miss Borden. She says that we American women dance beautifully. I cannot disagree with her on that point ; one reason for it is perhaps, as Miss Borden asserts, that American women are never still, but always graceful. Not many of our women take to a rocking chair when their dancing days are over, for the truth of the matter is that many of them never reach the period when their dancing days are over, but lead a full, well-rounded life, devoted to home, family, religion, worth-while organizations and reforms, interspersed with social pleasures, bridge, dancing, sports, art of all kinds, in fact everything that contributes to a well-balanced life.
To American women who have learned the true values of life money is conceded to be the least of all things, extremely convenient to have and to hold, but not conducive to happiness. As to her being the least happy of women, is she so much different from her English sisters ?
Miss Borden claims that women's main craving is variety. It is, I fully agree. Woman wants variety because the cycle of the recurring duties of her home finally become monotonous to her if she has an uncongenial mate and has formed no interest outside her own home. Go into any town of 2,000 or thereabouts in the fertile prairie lands of the United States, bordering the Mississippi on the East, the Missouri on the West, or take a typical " Main Street " town ; live there a little while, become acquainted and learn all that you can of the angles of life of the few women leaders of that town. These few leading women give of their own time and energy, often of their own money to community projects for the betterment of that town, public health service of all kinds, beautification of parks, playgrounds, schoolgrounds, elimina- tion of unsightly billboards, accumulations of litter and trash, and all ilk of that kind. Women who are leaders in church societies, patriotic organizations, parent-teacher associations, Red Cross and charitable organizations, who by giving of the best that is in them are honoured in time by the highest office that an organization or society can give to them. True the honour they gain is hard-earned, nothing worth getting is easily obtained, we all know that ; they may be unaware of helping another woman broaden her outlook, but they may be the means of opening the way for a better, broader life to some little shut-in housewife who realizes that her life is not satisfactory to her, but who lacks initiative to take steps to make life more congenial to her and to her family.
Miss Borden says: "Things must be new to be interesting to American women," " Antiques must be new antiques." That is a new one on me. Whoever heard of new antiques ? Miss Borden does not really know the women of our United States of America ; very many of them arc well educated in distinguishing the different periods of the early colonization of America as represented by the kinds of furniture, glass, china, silver and other house-keeping things of our ancestors ; and they love the sturdy, well-built furniture and the artistic and the beautiful Lares and Penates of their forbears.
There are those who trace their ancestry back to the time of the Normans, the Normans who accompanied William the Conqueror to England and who remained there to live and to establish their country seats, to become knights, high sheriffs of London, members of Parliament and officers in the English army, later going to Virginia to colonize the new America ; those who trace their French ancestry to the time of the Crusaders, those of the French Crusaders who fell before the walls of Jerusalem ; those who trace their ancestry to the true nobility of all nations. They are not confounded in judging the " New Antiques " from the real antiques.
What is really the matter with our English sister is that, he is envious of the glorious womanhood that our United States has produced and can vent her spleen in no other way but by the medium of her pen, imagining that our women are so busy with what she deems to be their empty, futile lives that they would never even see the article, and would not take the time from their hectic life to read it if they did see it. When Miss Borden lives among us long enough to really know and understand our women, I sincerely believe she will retract all her foolish statements.—I am, Sir, &c., an American woman and proud of it,
ANITA DANIEL. SHEPARD.
[We have received several letters from American readers taking exception to the article by Miss Mary Borden on " The American Woman " which appeared in the Spectator recently: Most of our correspondents express surprise that the Spectator should have published an article by an English woman who appears to them to know so little-of the United States. The women of America require no defence from the Spectator, but we would point out that Miss Borden is a well:, known American authoress and is well qualified to write about her own countrywomen.--Eo. Spectator.]
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